PHQR (Phone Home QR) helps lost things get home. Owners put PHQR stickers and tags on their belongings; whoever finds one scans it and can contact the owner through PHQR without either side seeing the other's contact details unless they choose to share them. This policy explains what we collect to do that, why, who helps us, and how long we keep it. PHQR is a service of Ascend Networks LLC (“we”, “us”), which runs phqr.app and phqr.org.
What we collect
If you own items (an account)
- Email address, to sign you in (with a one-time code or with Google) and to send you scan alerts and messages. With Google sign-in we receive only your email address and the fact that Google has verified it, not your Google name or photo.
- Mobile numbers: your main number (needed to finish setup) and up to three more you add for alerts, each confirmed with a code, with the date you agreed to texts. We use them only to text you scan alerts, finders' messages and codes, and to route your text replies into the right chat. Finders never see them (texts come from PHQR's number), they never appear on finder pages or in emails to finders, and our admins see only the last four digits. If you reply STOP, we keep a record of that number so we don't text it again until you reply START. Our texting provider receives the number and the text to deliver it.
- First name, if you add one. Finders see it as “Belongs to …” and in chat. You can leave it blank.
- Items and their details: names, descriptions, notes to finders, reward notes and item photos. Finders see the photo, the note to finders and, in lost mode, the reward note.
- Contact details you choose to show (a phone number or email) on specific items. They are hidden unless you tick them for an item.
- Stickers we ship to you: if you order stickers, we record which stickers were shipped to which customer (email, name, order number and mailing address) so we can mail them and only you can set them up. If someone signed in with another email tries to claim your order, we email a verification code to the email the order was placed with.
- Your time zone, from your browser, so times in our emails make sense.
- Sign-in sessions: the IP address and browser of each signed-in device, kept with the session.
If you find something (no account needed)
- Your messages to the owner, and theirs to you.
- Your phone number, only if you enter it. It is saved so we can text you the owner's replies (from PHQR's number) and put your text replies in the chat. The owner sees it only if you tick “Let the owner see my number”. Reply STOP to stop texts.
- Your precise location, only if you choose to share it. It goes to the owner and stays in PHQR; we never pass it to anyone else.
Every scan
- Scan details: the sticker, the time, how it was opened (QR, NFC tap or code lookup) and your browser type.
- Approximate location (city, region, country), estimated from the IP address by our analytics service (see below).
- A shortened IP address (the last part removed: IPv4 to /24, IPv6 to /48). We keep only the shortened form with the scan.
Why we use it
- To run the service: claim stickers, show the found or lost page, deliver chats.
- To alert owners by email when their stickers are scanned or a finder writes.
- To keep PHQR safe: rate limits and bot checks against people trying to guess codes or spam owners, and reports of abusive chats.
- To understand how stickers are used (scan counts and rough locations).
Who else processes it
We use a small number of service providers, who process data only on our behalf:
- AQRHub, our QR code and analytics service. It creates our sticker codes and records each scan: the code, time, how it was opened, browser type and IP address. AQRHub uses the full IP address only to estimate the approximate location and to filter out bots, then stores a shortened IP.
- An IP location provider (IPinfo), which AQRHub asks for the approximate location of a scan's IP address.
- Hosting and infrastructure: Render (servers), Neon (database), Cloudflare (network, bot checks with Turnstile, and photo storage), Resend (email).
- Google, if you choose “Continue with Google”.
- OpenStreetMap: maps in the owner's view load map tiles from OpenStreetMap, which sees the owner's IP address.
We don't sell your data
We do not sell or rent personal information, and we do not use it for advertising. We share it only as described here, or if the law requires it.
How long we keep it
- Finder phone numbers are deleted 30 days after a chat closes (marked returned, blocked, or ended because the sticker was transferred).
- Full IP addresses are kept only briefly: until the scan has been passed to AQRHub (normally seconds, at most 7 days if AQRHub can't be reached), and in our abuse limits for up to 2 days.
- Items, photos, files and chats stay until you delete them, the item or your account. Deleting an item deletes its photo, files and chats; its scan history stays with your account without the item. Files you add to an item are visible only to you.
- Your account stays until you delete it in Settings (or ask us at [email protected]). You confirm with a code we email you, and the deletion happens right away and can't be undone: we retire your stickers, delete your items, photos, files, contacts, chats and phone numbers, and email you that it's done.
- What we keep after deleting an account, for safety and the law: STOP opt-outs (so we never text that number again), chats someone reported and content held for review, order records needed for accounting (with your name masked), and our audit log of the deletion (with your email masked).
- A copy of your data you download from Settings is kept for 24 hours, then deleted.
Transferring a sticker
If you transfer a sticker to someone else, the new owner gets only the sticker: its code and its features. Your item details, photos, notes, contacts and chats are not shared with them. Open chats on that sticker end when the transfer is accepted, and if it was the item's last sticker, its photo is deleted and lost mode turns off; the rest is kept or deleted as described above. Scan history from before the transfer stays with you; the new owner sees only scans after they accept. The new owner never sees your name or email, and you don't see theirs unless you emailed them the link.
Your choices and rights
- Edit or delete items, photos and contact details at any time in the app.
- Turn scan and message emails on or off in Settings.
- Download a copy of your data, or delete your account, in Settings (“Your data”). The download is a zip with your account, items, stickers, contacts, phone numbers, chats, photos and files, as a page that opens in any browser, a spreadsheet of your items, and the raw data; we email you a link that works for 24 hours. For a correction, or anything else, email [email protected]. Depending on where you live you may have further rights; we will honor them.
- Finders can leave a chat on a shared device (“Not you?”), and can ask us to delete their messages or phone number at [email protected]. Tell us the sticker code and roughly when you wrote, so we can find the chat.
Cookies
We use only the cookies PHQR needs: one that keeps owners signed in, and one that lets a finder's browser return to their chat. Cloudflare Turnstile may set its own cookie to tell people from bots. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies.
Children
PHQR accounts are for people aged 18 and over. Finders don't need an account. PHQR is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If we learn that we have personal information from a child under 13, for example a finder's message or phone number, we delete it. If you think a child has given us information, contact [email protected].
Changes
If we change this policy, we will update the date above and, for significant changes, email account holders.
Contact
Privacy questions and data requests: [email protected]
By mail: Ascend Networks LLC, PO Box 290312, Davie, Florida 33329
For general help with PHQR, write to [email protected].